On this episode of Our American Stories, Francis Scott Key wasn't a musician, a soldier, or even a master wordsmith. But after witnessing the British bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812, he scribbled out a rough poem that captured a nation's defiance.

Set to the tune of a British drinking song, his words became "The Star-Spangled Banner," the unexpected anthem of a young country. Marc Leepson, author of What So Proudly We Hailed, shares the remarkable story of how America's national anthem came to be.

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